Readings:

PRAYER (traditional language)
I
Everliving God, who didst call the women at the tomb to witness to the
resurrection of thy Son: We offer thanks for the courageous and independent
spirit of thy servant Pandita Ramabai, the mother of modern India; and
we pray that we, like her, may embrace thy gift of new life, caring for
the poor, braving resentment to uphold the dignity of women, and offering
the riches of our culture to our Savior Jesus Christ; who livest and reignest
with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

PRAYER (contemporary language)
Everliving God, you called the women at the tomb to witness to the resurrection
of your Son: We thank you for the courageous and independent spirit of
your servant Pandita Ramabai, the mother of modern India; and we pray
that we, like her, may embrace your gift of new life, caring for the poor,
braving resentment to uphold the dignity of women, and offering the riches
of our culture to our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

PANDITA MARY RAMABAI

PROPHETIC WITNESS AND EVANGELIST IN INDIA, 1922

Pandita
Ramabai (23 April 1858, Maharashtra- 5 April 1922) was an eminent
Indian Christian social reformer and activist.

She was a poet, a scholar, and a champion of improvement in the plight
of Indian women. As a social reformer, she championed the cause of emancipation
of Indian women. A widely traveled lady, she visited most parts of India,
and even went to England (1883) and the U.S. (1886-88). She wrote many
books including her widely popular work titled The
High Caste Hindu Woman, which showed the darkest of subject matter
relating to the life of Hindu women, including child brides and the treatment
they receive by the government. She had a strong view of what should be
accomplished so women would be able to have more freedom, including protection
of widowed women and child brides and she was also against the practice
of suttee.

Pandita Ramabai was born into an intellectual Brahmin family. Her father
believed that women should have an education and against traditional Hindu
social structure he taught Ramabai how to read and write Sanskrit. Her
father, mother and sister died of starvation during the famine of 1874-76,
and her brother and she traveled around and eventually ended up in Calcutta.

After her brother's death in 1880, even though it was considered inappropriate
for a Hindu to marry into a lower caste, she married, on November 13,
1880, Babu Bipin Behari Medhavi, a Bengali lawyer at Bankipore, who was
not a Brahmin. Six months after the birth of their daughter, Babu died,
and Pandita was once again left with just one family member.

She received a scholarship to study in England. During her time in England,
she converted to Christianity but did not ever lose sight of her goals
for the social system in India. She clung to her roots and when she returned
to India she helped put up Christian Churches which had Sanskrit writing
instead of traditional Latin which was used in England. Ramabai attempted
to combine her new Christian ideals with her old Indian Culture and used
this mix to promote change in India. Being raised as in the Brahman caste
made her uniquely able to bring both men and women to Christianity due
to the caste’s image as social leaders.

She wrote a book about her travels to the United States and it has recently
been published in translation as Pandita
Ramabai's American Encounter. The book is a traveler's account
of the people and culture of the United States. It contains a pointed
comparison of the status of women in the U.S. and India, and strongly
suggests that India should follow down the path of reform. However, the
book is not without its criticisms of American society, particularly its
race problem.

In addition to her writing she founded the Arya Mahila Sabha in 1881,
the very first Indian feminist organization. She studied as well as taught
about the issues which surround Indian women especially those involved
in the Hindu traditions. She spoke against women who were forced to marry
young and/or widowed young and wrote about the struggle involved in their
lives.

She established the Mukti Mission in 1889 as a refuge for young widows
who were abused by their families. In Marathi, her native tongue, the
word mukti means liberation. The Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is still
active today, providing housing, education, vocational training, and medical
services, for many needy groups including widows, orphans, and the blind.